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Friday, November 22, 2013

An Alternative To Obamacare

A working group of members of the Republican Standing Committee, chaired by Representative Steve Scalise (R-La), has drafted a bill that stands as an alternative to Obamacare.

The bill has been reviewed by various elected officials and businesses over the past number of weeks.

Scalise says, "It is being taken very seriously."

And it should be. One of the echos of the progressive left is a charge for Republicans to come up with a better plan.

I believe they have and it is only 200 pages long. People can actually read and understand it.

Over 100 members of Congress have co-sponsored the bill, including medical doctors who serve in Congress.

They say this is a bill based on putting patients back in charge of their health care and lowering the cost and "getting government out of health care decisions."

Scalise says the plan would get "Washington politicians, IRS agents and all these other people out of those decisions between a doctor and patient. And what we do is just take commonsense reforms and allow people to buy across state lines so that they have more options in lowering the cost of healthcare."

Scalise says it's all about lowering the cost while maintaining the quality and putting the individual back in charge rather than being forced to live under the demands, mandates, taxes and penalties the government is presently imposing through Obamacare.

It is not an effort to "redistribute the wealth." It's an honest effort to improve health care and restore individual freedoms.

Those who drafted this bill also took into consideration some of the more personal needs people are faced with in regard to their health care.

They have addressed pre-existing conditions, with a realistic solution.

Scalise summarizes the key points of the American Health Care Reform Act as follows:

Fully repeals President Obama's health care law, eliminating billions in taxes and thousands of pages of unworkable regulations and mandates that are driving up health care costs.

Spurs competition to lower health care costs by allowing Americans to purchase health insurance across state lines and enabling small businesses to pool together and get the same buying power as large corporations.

Reforms medical malpractice laws in a commonsense way that limits trial lawyer fees and non-economic damages while maintaining strong protections for patients.

Provides tax reform that allows families and individuals to deduct health care costs, just like companies, leveling the playing field and providing all Americans with a standard deduction for health insurance.

Expands access to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), increasing the amount of pre-tax dollars individuals can deposit into portable savings accounts to be used for health care expenses.

Safeguards individuals with pre-existing conditions from being discriminated against in purchasing health insurance by bolstering state-based high risk pools and extending HIPAA guaranteed availability protections.

Protects the unborn by ensuring no federal funding of abortions.

The Daily Caller says, "The 200 page budget-neutral bill would provide $20,000 in tax deductions to families and $7500 deductions to individuals, so they can buy insurance from vendors in any state."

The bill transfers authority from Obamacare's regulations to citizens because "we think people are smart enough and will find the best plan for their family," Scalise says.

Forbes also supports the bill and says, "The most revolutionary aspect of the House plan...is its decoupling of insurance from employment," saying that the current method is a carry over from the WW II era when wage and price controls forced employers to compete for workers.

Forbes points out that this has caused worker's wages to be lower than they would have been otherwise.

I strongly recommend you take a moment and become familiar with this bill and what people are saying about it. A viable alternative to Obamacare will surely emerge. This may well be the beginning of that alternative.

Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Informed. Be Prayerful. Be Pro-Active. Be Blessed.